Rained a lot during Dec and ground too wet to do much.
Couple of better days yesterday and today. Pruned apples yesterday and pears, plums & quinces today.
Planted 3 new Victoria Plums (PL6,7,8) from the Holsworthy auction. Have got the hoops for the polytunnel up and one door frame. Need to do the North door frame and then ready to cover (but no great rush). Planted the Holsworthy raspberries and currants before Christmas. This week found two more raspberries and blackcurrants in Poundland so have planted them.
Have been cutting down the old raspberry canes (need to check on this). Also cut one of the large willows near veg bed. Hope to propogate a load more from the trimmings. Sunshine toady. COld but dry thank goodness.
Went to auction at Holsworthy today and bought 3 x Victoria Plums, 2 x Apricot, 2 x Blackcurrant, 2 x Redcurrant an 15 x mid-season Raspberries (all bare root). So have just been heeling in the trees (all 3yo bush). Have also ordered a polytunnel which should arrive next week. My idea is to put the apricots in the tunnel together with melons and tomatoes and seedlings.
Raspberries will go in the next section of the new (west) line. Plums will go down side beyond the barn and the currants will go between the apples.
Did some mowing this week - cleared the SW corner.
Jobs to do next week - prepare and plant plums, build polytunnel, re-roof the old shed, plant currants, plant raspberries, plant oaks and spare wild service tree, mow more!!
The Great Clear Up continues. On Saturday I managed some mowing, but hands are soft after 2 months away and a blister came up fairly quickly.
Did a bit more general tidying as well, got a reasonable amount stared.
Last week I also put in some more stakes - big ones for the large Vranja quince and one of the Lady Hennikers.
Back from being away for 8 weeks since 17th September - actually I was back to plant Eilidh's Wild Service Tree on 21st October; which went well - got van stuck in the field again!
Massive amount of tidying up and pruning to be done whenever there is a break in the weather. Next year I am not at work and intending to go away less so hope to get much on top of things.
Veg patch needs clearing and possibly extending a bit northwards. Goji berry bed needs attention. Treelings to be planted in the mixed woodland belt. More plums and pears below the barn site. Sort out raspberries and attend to blackcurrant and blueberry drainage problems. Prune all apple tress.
As you might surmise from the lack of entires it has been a busy summer away from Gwel Dulas so when I have had time to do stuff I haven't had time to write it up. Telling myself that next year will be better as no work days to interfere and clash with the good weather.
So what's been going on here? Sunflowers grew up to 8 feet tall with enormous heads. I'm going to try extracting some oil [I didn't - when I got back from travels the seeds I had saved had got wet and decayed]. Self-seeded spinach took over the marrow and squash area and drowned them out - and the carrots. A very few carrots did survive. The main crop King Edward spuds got blighted and almost none were edible thanks to wireworm and the pesky slugs. Amazingly the turnips have done ok. Good crop of onions from sets, also shallots. French beans failed but the broad beans did ok. I missed most of the peas through being away.
Runner beans have been, and still are, amazing. The biggest success of this year has been the raspberries - the autumn fruiting ones have really come through.
Have put in two more quince trees - another Vranja up at the top and a second Meech's Prolific near the first.
For Eilidh's tree we will be planting a Wild Service Tree - Sorbus Tormilaris - in October. Crab apples are looking good but I'm about to go away for two months so may miss them.
Been a bit busy elsewhere what with seeing both grandchildren in Bristol last weekend and 3 days at work both weeks - so the grass has grown. The spuds are even more grown. The summer raspberries and loganberries have largely gone to the birds. Have picked some blackcurrants and made a first batch of jam.
Just had three pretty full on days trying to catch up (and also doing a repair to the inflatable dinghy on the side). Mowing for an hour plus before breakfast, then back for more mowing until lunchtime. Afternoon (after siesta!) weeding and tending to thingsHave mown the entire central area and about to start on the apple orchard tomorrow morning.
Perpetual spinach from last year has seeded itself all over the squash patch...
[at which point the pen ran out of ink and then at sometime before the next entry the book got wet (it was left in the old shed) and the pages all welded together...]
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